Knoxville Catholic High School - Yearbook (Knoxville, TN)

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Jme misfortune' befell the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Knoxville. The record is not clear, but it appears that Mount Saint ph Academy closed sometime in 1887. When Saint Mary's School reopened in September-of that year,'it was under the ction of the Sisters of Charity. Their tenure in Knoxville was brief, but under their direction a formal high school curricu- was introduced at Saint Mary's School. In 1896 control of the school passed to the Sisters of Mercy. 'om the end of the Civil War to the turn of the century, the number of students in the Catholic school grew steadily essita ' g expansion in both the curriculum and the space occupied by the school. Between 1883 and 1886 the school ted in a rented house on Park Street lnow Magnolia Avenuel while a new Immaculate Conception Church was con- :ted on Sunimitiill. With completion of the new church, the school moved into classroom space in the church base- it. Shortly after compggon o4fTl'le church, a three-story convent was constructed adjacent to the church. In 1898 the ers were displaced fromgth convent and the building was converted into classrooms. The Sisters moved into a rented se on Asylum Avenueineiliiiwemsteglguel. ln 1903 new classrooms were constructed at the rear of the convent, and Sisters were able to reoccupyqtheir living quarters in the convent. ftlleltturn of the century Catholic edifatibn had left an indelible mark on the Knoxville community. Men who had been cated in the Catholic School weretafbe found in responsible positions in politics, business, education, the professions of and medicine, and the skilled tradesEMany1othersQvho were not necessarily in positions of prominence and leadership none the less improved their life situations over tlgie conditions of poverty and struggle that had characterized the early iigrant Catholics of Knoxville. Few womehgaof that era ,worked A number of women graduates of the Catholic School become teachers . . . a few taught in the Catholjcifghoelfitself and others were employed in public education. A number 1en and women from the Knoxville Calh0llf C' Eghity had entered the religious life, and they could attest that the ls of their religious vocations had been nurtmed holE School. 1e 5 owth of the Catholic community in Knoxville,,leidjtt'rQjggestablishment of Holy Ghost parish in 1908. Catholic educa- ha ' come so important by this time that the new Holy Ghost Church was constructed as a ibi 3 QQ church and school. The Sisters of Mercy underffople'thQ task of staffing the new school, and the first students rr . ,q tember 1908. lf' as , Y' 1 th wears of World War I both Catholic schools of Knoxvilleeylyeregoffering three-year high school programs. These gra e recognized in the community for their academic excellence, and students who had completed these pro- ws ionsidered ready for college admission. However, the FIene'df'or,.ajormaI four-year high school program with its i fa U apart from the two existing schools was apparent, and by the 1920's discussion and planning for establish- 1C liehigh school in Knoxville was under way. .yy 4 t Q 1e task ,bringing the plans for a Catholic high school in Knoxville to r'ealityf.felL Father D. Grady, aculate nception parish from 1917 to 1935. By 1929 the planning and s ye e high school program at Holy Gho t was closed and the high was yfs T in preparation for the ultimate a separate high school A ression intervened. However, with great deal of faith, acles and in january 1932 the spacious of the Gregory. Ash ouse the proposed school. Funds to for use as a isions Father met the shortage from his The turmoil of the the numerous setbacks was a plan to provide for policies taken out of Catholics, the Life money already paid in lost. problems yvere met and the Sisters of Mercy The story of High School over the next up 'iilmw Q Q f hi' 1 5 ,,' . 93' Q R

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The WGS Daily Chr 'as 1 ,X is Som w' Ar V' ati 2- .' :Ref noxvHk ian the fifty years that the school it signaled completion of a systen chiefly of lrish in of the Immaculate C they would nee them faithful to Catholic schoolmaster, Mr. Tho consisted of little rr ractices of the Catholic fi were scattered througl was known in the com The Civil War brought strife and turmo Q s Parilh School. The reopened school Hill- a graceful little stone structure that faced We Saint Z continued under the direction of laymen, but the p whose long and eventful pastorate began in 1872, Among the laymen to teach in the schooldtlring e thirty years later he returned to Knoxville 'ai Monsig lay teacher of these yearlsgyggs 1QhniQ'Shea. One o During these post- I fyegrs' the student popula and a system of grade lirjtroduced. the church building which housegllheschool. On'the grounds thai ju petition was prZQgerTf'ed'to the City Council reque on September, 18, 1874, theility Fathersappropriated S400 to fchargetof the school, andithe era of acade xcellence that has characterized of june 5 5 commented on signs of their ink f Saint lo: were pl tlfgisters of Sa on Hill of a Saint urchin 'liiilllllll 'S'5:'4'tlw1. lo SB ph anoter school in site of Church education, also as Mi Meth Flower 35 services

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